"21st Century Socialism"

The following commentary on the ongoing drama of the so-called "Venezuelan Road" was posted at >>>

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http://groups.yahoo.com/group/redsquare2/message/4454

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Re: Draft program of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela
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thank you for this posting. i guess you could say this is as close aswe come to a manifesto for "21st century socialism" ?

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>>"[Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez made his first public call for the creation a political instrument to unify the country'srevolutionary forces in December 15, 2006. Convened on January 12,2008, some 1676 congress delegates elected from almost 15,000socialist battalions -- local units of the PSUV -- will discuss and debate this draft program, as well as the proposed priniciples and statutes of the new party, over the next two months. In between congress sessions, delegates will return to their local regions and battalions to ensure the widest possible discussion of these documents among the ranks of the new party."

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in principle this is a good move. the MVR and the coalition associated with it is much to disparate to be able to effectively handle a reinvigorated neoliberal opposition. the recent defeat of the constitutional rerform referendum was a warning that the war is not won yet for chavismo. i only hope that this political realignment leaves room for the independent movilisation of forces to the left of chavez. the neoliberal opposition has eclipsed the left opposition in venezuela.

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>>"Taking as its starting point the championing and unconditional defence of the government of the Bolivarian revolution, led by President Hugo Chavez, and the will of the Venezuelan people to construct the socialism of the 21st century, the program of the PSUV is the instrument with which to set out the objectives, forms and methods of this revolutionary project, and express them at each moment through slogans that can facilitate the transition from the immediate reality to the end goal; slogans that, by definition, adapt themselves permanently to the immediate circumstances........."

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this sounds like a step forward, but i am not comfortable with the equation of the personality of hugo chavez with the revolutionary process underway. the transformation of society - for it to genuinely evolve in a socialist direction - must be directly associated with independent efforts by the working class, farmers and the urban poor in venezuela. a flaw of the venezuelan road is the association of process with personality cults. this was a mistake in the ussr and remains a weakness in context of 21st century socialism.

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>>"The program of the PSUV has as its objective making reality the slogan "in order to end poverty you have to give power to the poor", or better said: the people. That is to say, build a government based on Councils of Popular Power, where workers, campesinos, students and popular masses are direct protagonists in the exercising of political power."

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the ostentible aim of socialism is to end the social condittion of poverty created by capitalism. my question would be: at one point do the councils replace chavez as focus of political power ? is the process thereby which chavez transfers power to these councils specified ? at what point does the process let go of political forms associated with capitalism - such as parliament ?

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>>"The program of the PSUV proposes the socialising of political power, establishing the direct exercising of decision-making power by the masses in their organisations; their unrestricted right to scientific research and the free artistic creation, and the democratisation of access to all cultural policies."

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a while back i was arguing in favour of the perspective that chavez should have delegated economic desicion making powers to the left sectors of the UNETE. i insist that the most advanced sectors of the liberated working class movement should be empowered as a first step towards socialising political power in venezuela.

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more comments on this document will follow soon...

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- neo.